Grasping for the Wind

Die-Hard

My mother has always loved watching the Die Hard movies starring Bruce Willis around Christmas time. It's kind of become something of a family tradition. So I was pleased to see die-hard as the OED's Word of the Day. Apparently, the word has been around since 1822, at least in print. The funniest thing is that it also refers to the Scottish Terrier, a dog the wife and I thought was pretty cute as we began looking for possible puppies for our home.

A. adj. That dies hard, resisting to the last. Cf. sense B. 2.

B. n.

1. One that dies hard; spec. an appellation of the 57th Regiment of Foot in the British Army.

2. A person who is extremely conservative, stubborn, or irreconcilable, esp. on a political or other issue; spec. (a) one of those who were prepared to ‘die in the last ditch’ in their resistance to the Home Rule Bill of 1912; (b) one of those members of the Conservative Party who followed the leadership of the Marquess of Salisbury in 1922. Also transf.

3. The Scottish terrier.

Posted by John on December 22, 2006 09:50 AM | Posted to Literature and Language
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